To snack or not to snack...

There is a bit of a conundrum that is faced when trying to lose weight. Actually there are a few. But I am just going to tackle one for today: Snacking.

Some people see it as their downfall, the reason that they are overweight. "I can't stop snacking! I feel like I eat all day."

Other people swear by it for weight loss. "I eat 6 times a day and have lost 10 lbs this month!"

So which is it? 

Research and "belt science" would indicate that eating too much causes us to gain weight. At the same time research shows that those who eat 4-6 meals per day actually reduce more body fat than those who eat 1-2 times per day.

The truth? Eating frequently (every 2-3 hours) helps to speed up your metabolism, BUT....

Belly fat juice.

If your snacks are Tootsie Rolls, Doritos, M&M's and Pepsi (that includes diet too!) I will personally GUARANTEE that you will GAIN weight when you snack.

But if your snacks are carrots, cottage cheese, apples, yogurt, blueberries, almonds, pistachios or iced tea, then I will personally GUARANTEE that you will LOSE weight when you snack!

Eating frequently has been shown to alter your metabolism. If you eat more, you're metabolism will rise following your snack. However, if you eat sugary stuff your metabolism will not rise as much as when you have a high protein-high fiber snack such as apples and yogurt, or carrots and cottage cheese. 

Fruits and vegetables will ALWAYS be a better choice than chips, candy and soda. Chips and candy have almost ZERO nutritional value and as a result are energy sapping slugs that only send your insulin levels through the roof. And when insulin is constantly high, it stores excess energy as FAT. 

Protein on the other hand has a much slower digestion, requires more energy to breakdown and when it is broken down can be used for repairing muscles, organs, bone as well as providing energy. And it increases your metabolism for up to 30%. And a fast metabolism is the key to getting rid of stubborn belly fat.

Belly Fat Fighters

So how to sum this up and make it practical?

Snacks like cottage cheese, yogurt, 1 piece of fruit, baby carrots, broccoli sprouts, or a small handful of almonds or pistachios are the BEST foods for losing belly fat. Eat snacks in between your main meals and a small one before bed and your metabolism will begin to speed up and you'll start to see that spare tire slowly begin to deflate!

Just a quick peek into the future...

If we could look 12-weeks into the future and look at ourselves, where will we be? What will we be doing and what will we look and feel like?

12-weeks from today it will be July 22: The middle of summer. Here are a few guarantee's.

July heat is a sure thing.

• It's gonna be hot. July 22nd is near the beginning of Bakersfield's hot season which usually lasts from the first week of July through mid-September. 

Yep and that's about all I've got for guarantee's! Everything else is unknown.

And there is some real beauty in this because you have 12-weeks worth of decisions to make. There will be tough times and good times but you have the choice as to how you will respond to them.

When it comes to how you look and feel, 12-weeks is enough to make some pretty significant progress! But consider that weight loss and body changes take hard work during exercise and some REALLY hard work in the kitchen! 

If you've been involved with the Hi-5 FitCamp, you've heard me say that you can't out-train a bad diet. There is simply no way around it. But changing your body is easier with a plan. Now although I can't give a custom nutrition plan for everybody, because everybody is a bit unique, here is what a typical day of food selection should look like. But again, quantity will be a bit different depending on each person's weight.

Breakfast

• Oatmeal + protein powder + fruit
• 1 Multivitamin
• Fish oil

Snack

Start going nuts for shakes!!

• Cottage cheese + salsa + flaxseed tortilla chips
• 1-cup water

Lunch

• Sirloin steak mixed into a large salad + pecans + vinaigrette dressing 
• 1-cup water/tea
• Fish oil

Snack: Smoothie (click here for the ultimate smoothie guide)

•  1 fruit + 1 veggie + handful of nuts + protein powder + liquid 

Dinner* (1/2 plate should be veggies, 1/4 plate meat, 1/4 plate grains)

• Meat + veggies + nuts + complex carbs (i.e. cous cous, quinoa)**
• 2 cups water
• Fish oil

**if you don't want grains, just add more greens to your plate! 

 Now this may seem quite a bit different than what you're currently eating. If it feels like this, then just make a small change at a time. For example, if you usually don't eat breakfast, you could have a small bowl of oatmeal and a glass of milk. Do this for a week, then add another healthy habit!

Want more information? Shoot me an email and I can help guide you in the right direction!

5 Snacks to help structure your eating!

Often times my wife gets more than a little flustered with me for more than a few reasons. But probably the thing that bothers her the most, is my lack of planning when it comes to things around the house. And I can't blame her.

I can't count how many times she has said "We need to sit down and discuss ________ sometime soon." My response is, "okay, let's do it."

However, I commit to it and then I am on my way to the next thing. Two weeks later, that _______ comes up again and we still haven't talked about it. So what I have realized is that I need to structure and plan my time accordingly. If I commit to something, I need to write it down so I don't have to remember, but rather my planner will remember for me.

My method of problem solving at home is similar to most people's eating and exercise plan. There is the verbal portion, but then the ACTION NEVER COMES!

A structured eating plan and a structured exercise plan is necessary. But it does not have to be complicated or extreme.

Take small steps. Like Richard Dreyfus in the movie, "What About Bob?" - Baby Steps.

So here are 5 snack idea's to make sure you are taking small steps to change your eating habits. (After all, you are already exercising at least 4 times a week in the Hi-5 FitCamp!)

1. Sunday afternoon, take 5 sandwich bags and put 1/3 cup of almonds in each one. You now have a low calorie, slow digesting snack to help keep your blood sugar stead through each afternoon. Just make sure you take them to work with you!
2. Buy 5 banana's and 5 apples or pears and put them in a large bowl in your office. Then make sure that you eat every piece of fruit in the bowl by Friday. The bonus is your co-workers will know that you are taking your eating seriously and set a great example for the office.
3. Buy 5 yogurts and stick them in the fridge at work. Again, you know have a low cal, high protein snack to get you through the afternoon's.
4. Buy a package of beef jerky for those desperate times when you are driving, and are so hungry that your thumb is starting to look tasty. You will probably have to reload each week!
5. Buy yourself an aluminum, 1-L water bottle. First off it looks cool, especially when it gets banged up (scratches add character) but also it's a reminder that you should be going through that bottle AT LEAST once a day, if not TWICE. Water helps your kidney's function. If your kidneys aren't functioning optimally, they rely on your liver. Your helps to mobilize fat. If your liver is helping the kidney's how is it going to get that fat moving?

So there you go. 5 ways to TAKE ACTION today to improve your eating habits!

Snack Time

So last week we talked about the need to eat more frequently. Remember the car analogy, too much fuel will slow you down, too little will not get you where you need to go.

Today let's talk about scheduling between 5-6 meals per day.

Here is the key. If you remember nothing else, remember this: Plan ahead.

You have to know that nothing you buy on a whim at the gas station is going to be that healthy for you. Plus you don't want to leave your health to the choices they offer. Instead plan ahead.

Make a list of 5 snack time meals that you enjoy. These can be Peanut butter and apples, celery and low fat cream cheese, dried fruit and almonds, cottage cheese and pineapple, yogurt yogurt and granola, or veggies and hummus.

At this point, I usually hear a cumulative, "yeah but..." followed by "I don't have time in the morning to get that ready for my day."

And I will respond with, "Me neither." But you probably have time the night before, on the weekend or at some point during your week. So here are the steps to planning for your eating.

Step 1: Take that time and write down 5 snacks that include fruits or veggies and a protein (dairy, nuts, beans).

Step 2: Take that list and go shopping.

Step 3: Do all your chopping and separating of foods on the weekend or in that spare time. Chop your apples and put PB in a small travel container (I like glass because food can sometimes leach from the plastic, thus you end up eating cancer causing plastic).

Step 4: Don't forget your snacks on the way out in the morning before work!!

And there you have it. Heck if you'd like, take all of your snacks on Monday morning and keep them in the fridge at work!!

Follow these 4 steps and watch how your body responds.